Sinclair Eyes Broadcast Broadband

Sinclair Broadcast Group says it would be a buyer
in the broadcast spectrum incentive auctions if
the FCC allows for higher-power wireless licenses
it says could be used to deliver advanced wireless
services, including broadcast broadband.

The FCC has been getting plenty of input
on plans for fitting broadcasters and wireless
operators in the 600 MHz band after the incentive
auctions. Sinclair is looking to become a
dual-purpose broadcaster if the FCC sees it the
company’s way.

In an FCC filing, Sinclair said it would be prepared
“to bid aggressively on 50 kW TDD [Time
Division Duplex] licenses [the higher-powered
wireless licenses] divided into economic areas
or, similarly, granular geographic sizes, and to
deploy new and innovative services that would
expand the wireless ecosystem.”

Sinclair engineering guru Mark Aitken says
that if the FCC wants a flexible band plan, it
should extend that flexibility to making some
of the wireless licenses powerful enough to
deliver advanced services, rather than simply
“wireless unicasting.” Sinclair could buy spectrum
at auction and start delivering broadband
bits to the entire marketplace, says Aitken.